The First Look At The Ataribox, Atari’s New Console

Gamers have been wondering what Atari was thinking when they announced they were making a new console. Finally, we’re starting to see what was on their mind.

Atari showed off the exterior of their box and discussed some of the principles around its design in a newsletter published online. There wasn’t any mention of specific specs or what kinds of games the Ataribox would play, although the newsletter did mention that there would be two editions – a black/red version and a wood version – and the console would come with an SD card slot, HDMI output and four USB ports. The images also show an ethernet port at the back, and what looks like a headphone jack/line out.

Image: Atari

Image: Atari

Damn it looks nice.

But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the newsletter, however, is this line:

As you can guess, those ports suggest modern internal specs. It also means that while we will be delivering classic gaming content, we will also be delivering current gaming content.

The post went on to suggest that “there are a lot of milestones, challenges and decision points in front of us in the months ahead”, perhaps indicating that the console won’t be ready for release in 2017. But as we find out more, we’ll keep you posted.

The full newsletter is as follows:

Image: Atari

Our objective is to create a new product that stays true to our heritage while appealing to both old and new fans of Atari.

Inspired by classic Atari design elements (such as the iconic use of wood, ribbed lines, and raised back); we are creating a smooth design, with ribs that flow seamlessly all around the body of the product, a front panel that can be either wood or glass, a front facing logo, indicator lights that glow through the material, and an array of new ports (HDMI, 4xUSB, SD). We intend to release two editions: a wood edition, and a black/red edition.

As you can guess, those ports suggest modern internal specs. It also means that while we will be delivering classic gaming content, we will also be delivering current gaming content.

We know you are hungry for more details; on specs, games, features, pricing, timing etc. We’re not teasing you intentionally; we want to get this right, so we’ve opted to share things step by step as we bring Ataribox to life, and to listen closely to Atari community feedback as we do so. There are a lot of milestones, challenges and decision points in front of us in the months ahead. We’ll be giving you lots more information and status updates as we progress, and we are thrilled to have you along for the ride!